Seminar on How to Map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces and

Device Interfaces in Real Space and Time

CENT invited Dr. Omar F. Mohammed, an Assistant Professor of Chemical Science in Solar and

Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King

Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to deliver a seminar on how to map

Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces and Device Interfaces in Real Space

and Time on Wednesday, 1st of March, 2017 at the Research Institute building . . {details on page 2}

CHEMISTRY STUDENT

RESEARCH POSTER

DAY

NEW PATENTSTwo new US patents US 9480978

B1 (2016) and US 9,399,576 B2

have been granted to researchers

affiliated to the Center of

Excellence in Nanotechnology . .

{details on page 3}

UPCOMING

EVENT

UPCOMING EVENTS

Joint Seminar between Center of

Research Excellence for

Nanotechnology (CENT) and

Chemical Engineering Department

(CHE).

MS Thesis defense of several

CENT affiliated students.

Details on page 5

For comments, contact Mr. Mohammed Sanhoob +966 13 8607265, sanhoob@kfupm.edu.sa

CHEMISTRY STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER DAY

organized by the Department of Chemistry with the

support of the Saudi Arabia Chapter of America

Chemical Society… {details on page 4}

Mr. Ibrahim Khan

took 1st position

Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 – Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438

1

www.kfupm.edu.sa/cent

SEMINAR on

How to Map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces

and Device Interfaces in Real Space and TimeBy Dr. Omar F. Mohammed

Assistant Professor of Chemical Science in Solar and Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center,

Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and

Technology (KAUST)

CENT invited Dr. Omar Muhammed, an

Assistant Professor of Chemical Science in

Solar and Photovoltaic at the Engineering

Research Center, Division of Physical

Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah

University of Science and Technology

(KAUST) to deliver a seminar on the topic

“How to Map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics

on Photoactive Material Surfaces and

Device Interfaces in Real Space and Time”

on Wednesday, 1st of March, 2017at the

Research Institute Building 15. The event

started with the introduction of the speaker

by Dr. Safyan Khan of CENT, the speaker

started his presentation with an introduction

to KAUST and her research capabilities

before introducing the scopes of discussion

in the seminar, the scopes are pump-probe

in laser spectroscopy and electron

microscopy, charge transfer dynamics at

interfaces and Four-Dimensional (4D)

electron imaging: from concept to unique

applications.

He described the pump probe concept in

spectroscopy as the best technique in

probing the surface of materials with

minimal interference from the bulk and

discussed the unique applications such as in

probing carrier dynamics at interface P/N

junctions/water splitting, electron injection

in QD-Photocatalysis solar cells, carrier

dynamics in real space and heat transfer on

surfaces highlighting specific applications

on how charge transfer can be probe in

organic compounds, quantom dots (QD) and

perovskites using specific examples from his

research works published in different

renowned journals. He later discussed how

real space mapping of carrier dynamics on

material surface and interface can be

selectively achieved using 4D imaging

where he discussed the experimental set up

of a second generation four-dimensional

scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (4D

S-UEM) at KAUST and demonstrated its

ability to take time-resolved secondary

electron images of material surfaces with

650fs temporal and approximately 5nm

spatial resolution. He highlighted various

research work where the 4D S-UEM have

been used to successfully detect carrier

dynamics in Si P/N junctions, on

semiconductor CdSe surfaces, on

semiconductor nanowires before and after

treatment, on semiconductor QDs before and

after treatment, thin films, carrier diffusion

on material surfaces, and heat transfer on

material surfaces. He concluded the

presentation by highlighting the importance

and other applications of the 4D S-UEM.

Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 – Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438

For comments, contact Mr. Mohammed Sanhoob +966 13 8607265, sanhoob@kfupm.edu.sa

2

RESEARCH CORNER

US PATENT, US 9,399,576 B2

450 NM VISIBLE LIGHT-INDUCED

PHOTOSENSITIZED DEGRADATION

OF RHODAMINE B MOLECULES

OVER BIOBR IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Muhammad Ashraf Gondal, Dhahran (SA);

Kai Shen, Nanjing (CN); Xiafeng Chang,

Nanjing (CN); and Zain Hasan Abdallah

Yamani, Dhahran (SA)Filing date Jan 14, 2014

Publication date Jul 26,2016

A method for degrading Rhodamine B

including: mixing BiOBr and Rhodamine

B; and irradiating the mixture with a

radiation having a wavelength of from 440

nm to 554 nm. The Rhodamine B may be in

an aqueous solution. The BiOBr may be

added to the aqueous solution of

Rhodamine B in an amount of from 0.2 to

0.5 mg/ml. The BiOBr may have a sheet-

like structure with particles having a

diameter of from 3 μm to 5 μm. The BiOBr

may be in a pure crystal tetragonal phase.

NEW CENT AFFILIATES

For comments, contact Mr. Mohammed Sanhoob +966 13 8607265, sanhoob@kfupm.edu.sa

Dr. Ihsan-ul-Haq Toor

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Muhammad Sharif

Chemistry Department

Dr. Syed Sohail Akhtar

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Wasif Farooq Hussain

Chemical Engineering

Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 – Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438

US Patent, US 9480978 B1 (2016)

SURFACE BONDED RH-BIS(PHOSPHINE) ON

MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES AS A

RECYCLABLE CATALYST FOR

HYDROFORMYLATION OF OLEFINS

Shaikh, M.N., Yamani, Z. H. AFiling date Jan. 6, 2016 Publication date Nov 1, 2016

Catalysis plays a central role in the production of

essential chemicals in our daily lives such as

medicines, fine chemicals, polymer, fiber, and fuel.

Homogeneous catalysis plays a dominating role in

this area as it reacts in the same phase with the

reactant and thereby all sites are accessible and easy

to tune by organic functional groups inter-

conversion.

However, the limitation of separating catalyst from

the desired product after the reaction hindered it’s

scaling up into commercial processes.

Great efforts have been devoted to developing

alternatives to minimize the separation cost and to

maximize product purity. Heterogeneous catalysis

draws chemists’ attention as it is easy to separate,

recycle and more environmentally friendly catalysts.

Superparamagnetic Iron oxide nanoparticles

(SPIONs) as solid supported catalyst becomes the

obvious choice, which opened up a promising

research strategy to develop surface coated

recyclable catalyst by anchoring homogeneous

organic species (ligand or metal complexes) and

mimicking the homogeneous catalysis.

Furthermore, SPIONS provide recyclable catalysts

due to their insolubility in organic solvents and their

distinct magnetic nature, rendering their separation

from the heterogeneous reaction system virtually

effortless.

In this invention, the newly prepared organic ligand

has been coated on the ultrasmall magnetic

nanoparticles (5-7 nm). These nanomaterials

exhibited high catalytic activity toward the

conversion of alkenes to aldehydes; the reactions

reached the maximum (>99%) with a low syngas

pressure. The recyclability was tested with the

catalyst on styrene as the substrate, and it was found

that even after seven cycles, without the addition of

further Rh(I), the catalyst was persistently active.

3

We are pleased to

announce the promotion

of Dr. Mohammad

Qamar to the rank of

Research Assistant II. Dr.

Qamar joined the Center

of Research Excellence

in Nanotechnology (CENT)

as post-doctoral fellow after which he held

the position of Research Scientist III,

proving himself as a hardworking and

committed researcher.

His promotion should inspire others to

emulate his achievement and excel in their

endeavor. Please join us in congratulating

Dr. Qamar on his promotion, He can be

reached via his email address

qamar@kfupm.edu.sa

It is our pleasure to

announce that Dr. Tawfik

Saleh, faculty member

of Chemistry Department

has been promoted to the

rank of Associate

Professor.

Dr. Tawfik is one of CENT affiliates in

Chemistry Department,

His promotion should encourage others to

work hard and aim to be successful in their

endeavor.

You may extend your congratulatory

messages to Dr. Tawfik Saleh by sending

him a message to his email address

tawfik @kfupm.edu.sa

CHEMISTRY STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER DAY

Mr. Ibrahim Khan took 1st position at the CHEMISTRY STUDENT

RESEARCH POSTER DAY organized by the Department of Chemistry with the

support of the Saudi Arabia Chapter of America Chemical Society. Mr. Ibrahim is a

CENT affiliate research assistant, his poster presentation was titled “single step

strategy GaON/ZnO Photoanodes for enhanced water oxidation”

For comments, contact Mr. Mohammed Sanhoob +966 13 8607265, sanhoob@kfupm.edu.sa

Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 – Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438

4

For comments, contact Mr. Mohammed Sanhoob +966 13 8607265, sanhoob@kfupm.edu.sa

Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 – Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438

Congratulations to the following CENT affiliated students on the successful

presentation of their MS thesis

UPCOMING EVENTS

Joint Seminar

Center of Research Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT) and Chemical

Engineering Department

Speaker: Dr. Wasif Farooq

Topic: Microalgae Biotechnology for fuel, chemicals and material synthesis

Date: Monday, April 17th, 2017

Time: 11:00 AM

Venue: Building 4, Room 125 (Auditorium)

Mr. M. Rizwan Yousaf

Mechanical EngineeringMr. Mudassir Farooq

Mechanical Engineering

MS Thesis Defense of

Mr. Oluwole O. Ajumobi

Thesis Title: Developing Ceria-Based Nanocomposites for Hydrocarbon Cracking

Date: April 10, 2017 Time: 11.00 AM Venue: Building 4, Room 125

MS Thesis Defenses of Mr. Saheed lateef

Thesis Title: Development of SSZ-54 Catalyst for the Catalytic Cracking of Alkanes for Production of Light Olefins

MS Thesis Defense of Mr. Hafiz Khuram

Thesis Title: Development of Ceramic Nanocomposite Membrane for Water Filtration Application

MS Thesis Defense of Mr. Umar Azam

Thesis Title: Development of Hybrid Nanocomposite Polymer Coatings for Tribological Applications Under Dry and Water Lubrication Conditions

PhD Dissertation Defense of Mr. Saheed Adewale

Thesis Title: Single Pot Synthesis of Modified SBA-15 Ni-Mo Based Catalysts in Fuel Desulfurization

The date, time and venue of the defenses will determine later

5

RECENT CENT AFFILIATED PUBLICATIONS

"Sonochemical-driven ultrafast facile synthesis of SnO2 nanoparticles: Growth mechanism

structural electrical and hydrogen gas sensing properties," Ullah, Hafeez ullah., Khan, I.,

Yamani, Z. H. and Qurashi, A., Ultrasonics Sonochemistry,Vol. 34, Issue, 2017, pp. 484-

490.

"Ab-initio investigation of adsorption of CO and CO 2 molecules on graphene: Role of

intrinsic defects on gas sensing," N. Tit, K. Said, N. M. Mahmoud, S. Kouser and Z. H.

Yamani, Applied Surface Science, Vol. 394, 2017, pp 219-230

"Single-pot synthesis of Ti-SBA-15-NiMo hydrodesulfurization catalysts: Role of

calcination temperature on dispersion and activity," S. A. Ganiyu, K. Alhooshani and S. A.

Ali, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 203, issue, 2017, pp 428-441

"532 nm nanosecond pulse laser triggered synthesis of ZnO2 nanoparticles via a fast

ablation technique in liquid and their photocatalytic performance," D. Yang, M. A. Gondal,

Z. H. Yamani, U. Baig, X. Qiao, G. Liu, Q. Xu, D. Xiang, J. Mao and K. Shen, Materials

Science in Semiconductor Processing, Vol. 57, issue, 2017, pp 124-131.

"Probing the light harvesting and charge rectification of bismuth nanoparticles behind the

promoted photoreactivity onto Bi/BiOCl catalyst by (in-situ) electron microscopy," X.

Chang, L. Xie, E. Wei, K. Lu, Q. Qi, C. Dong, X. Yan, M. A. Gondal, S. G. Rashid and

Q. I. Dai, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 201, issue, 2017, pp 495-502.

"Detection of CO 2 using CNT-based sensors: Role of Fe catalyst on sensitivity and

selectivity," Tit, Al Ezzi, Abdullah, Yusupov, Kouser, Bahlouli and Yamani, Journal, Vol.

186, 2017, pp 353-364.

"ZnO nanostructures based biosensors for cancer and infectious disease applications:

Perspectives, prospects and promises," S. S. Bhat, A. Qurashi and F. A. Khanday, TrAC

Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 86, issue, 2017, pp 1-13.

"A novel fabrication methodology for sulfur-doped ZnO nanorods as an active photoanode

for improved water oxidation in visible-light regime," Khan, A., M. I. Ahmed, A. Adam,

A. M. Azad and M. Qamar, Nanotechnology, Vol. 28, 2017, pp 055602.

"DC Electrical Conductivity Retention, Optical Properties and Ammonia Sensing Analysis

of Naturally Degraded CSA-Doped Graphene/polyaniline Composite Nanofibers Prepared

with CTAB," S. Ghazali, M. M. Hossain, A. Khan, M. Y. Khan and M. Hasan, Journal of

Electronic Materials, Vol. 46, issue 1, 2017, pp 331-339.

"Cathodized Gold Nanoparticle‐Modified Graphite Pencil Electrode for Non‐Enzymatic

Sensitive Voltammetric Detection of Glucose," Kawde, A. N., M. Aziz, M. El‐Zohri, N.

Baig and N. Odewunmi, Electroanalysis, Vol.29 2017, pp 1-9.

For comments, contact Mr. Mohammed Sanhoob +966 13 8607265, sanhoob@kfupm.edu.sa

Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 – Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438

6